You have been used the ‘Address’toolbar in the taskbar as a quick and easy input field . But after installing Service Pack 3, this bar suddenly disappeared and it’s not possible to bring it back.

After installing SP3

You can restore an older config file quite easily using a simple trick. However, it’s not advisable to do so since an older version of the file ‘browseui.dll’ in your XP installation folder might contain old potential security loopholes which can compromise the security of your system. If you still want to give it a try, boot the computer from a Windows XP SP2 setup CD and select the recovery console. Go to ‘Start | Run |cmd.exe’ to open the command prompt and enter the command 'cd windows\system32' in the target directory and extract the ‘browseui.dl_’ file with the command: expand browseui.dl_ browseui.dll from the CD. And now, the address bar is available at your disposal, the moment you restart the computer. Alternatively, you may download the file ‘browseui.dll’ from www.dll-files.com where it’s availablein a compressed ZIP format. Alternatively, you can download the file from here, Browseui.dll file download in ZIP format.Unpack the downloaded file and copy it to the system folder in your local drive, probably ‘C:\Windows\System32\’.

Placing the Address Bar on Top: Go to the desktop, click ‘My Computer’ from the start menu and drag it to the top border of the free space on your desktop. Now right-click in the new bar and select the ‘Toolbars | Address’ context command.You can now drag this new toolbar into the taskbar, but it will disappear once you restart the computer. Instead, right-click again on the My Computer toolbar and select the ‘Toolbars | My Computer’ command. With that, only the grey address bar on the top border remains and is available for use again after a restart.

Using Custom Free software: Alternatively,you can even reproduce the desired function using the free program MuvEnum.You will find the program at www.muvenum.com/products/freeware/ .

MuvEnum Address Bar is the ultimate replacement for the missing address bar in Windows XP SP3. It recreates the experience of the original address bar with auto-completion while adding many new features including support that allow you to quickly open webpages, navigate to favorites, start programs, search the internet, and more from you Windows Taskbar. Easily activate the toolbar using a global system-wide shortcut!

The tool can be activated by selecting the command ‘Toolbars | MuvEnum Address Bar’ from the context menu of the taskbar after installation has completed. The settings of the toolbar can be accessed through the icon on the right of the bar. Disable the ‘Show Go Button’ in the ‘Options’ window to get rid of the unnecessary arrow button. Confirm your settings and exit the window by pressing ‘Save’. The bar is an Explorer extension and thus available without an auto-start option

Using Windows Search 4: As a further option, Microsoft recommends its own program, ‘Windows Search’. However, being a complex package which not only replaces the address bar but also installs the comprehensive Desktop Search function from Vista, think twice before installing it on your machine. The advantage with Windows Search 4 is that you can find files and emails across the entire system instantaneously. But it also causes hard disk activity to increase noticeably. It can be downloaded from www.microsoft.com/downloads. Enter ‘windows search 4’ in the search box and download the version appropriate for your operating system